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Terran culture
Ever since the earliest days of The Land, people have been fascinated by stories of alien worlds, most particularly Earth. It began with God sharing information with Connor and Brigid, and later became even more common when Brist introduced religion to the world, in the form of spirit-talkers. Over the centuries since then, many spirits have shared stories, which sometimes have been passed on to the general public by spirit-talkers. Sometimes these stories have even been published, rather than passed on orally. Such publications became even more widely read after Talon invented the printing press in LY 390. Another leap forward came during and following the Coming of the Order, when Sorreters began selling spell devices to the general public, so that not only could stories from Earth and other worlds be read, but sometimes one might even get to hear copies of music from other worlds. In addition to all the alien art that has been reproduced on the Land, it's important to remember that a great deal of original Landian art has been inspired, to one degree or another, by stories from other worlds. In fact, the cultural impact which worlds such as Earth have had on Landian culture in general goes far beyond art, extending even to such fundamental things as names. In fact, God Himself was inspired by alien culture, when He created certain of the Land's naturally occurring animals. In a similar vein, Sorreters created mythical creatures based on stories from other worlds. It's safe to say, it's probably impossible to accurately calculate the total impact of worlds like Earth on virtually every aspect of life on the Land. But this article shall attempt to list at least a small portion of the various examples of art and other culture which either originated on Earth or were inspired by the culture of Earth. Foods & drinks *Beer: An alcoholic beverage which comes in various types, including ales, lagers, porters, stouts, nihonshu, and lambics. Beers have been brewed on the Land since the first century, though it is not certain whether it was first done in the time of Connor and Brigid or after their deaths. *Coffee: A hot beverage made from a plant which also exists on Earth. *French toast: A recipe which is thought to have been taught to Connor and Brigid by God sometime in the first half century of the world's existence. *Hamburgers: A type of sandwich the main filler of which is beef patties. The name derives from a Terran city. The method of preparing hamburgers was first taught by a spirit to a restaurateur and spirit-talker named Burke in LY 500. *Ice cream: A frozen confection which comes in various flavors, such as azuki, chocolate, strawberry, spumoni, etc. There are also similar frozen treats called "gelato" and "sherbet," both of which can come in various flavors (usually fruits), though many people fail to distinguish these from ice cream. (See also "Ice Cream Day" in Holidays of the Land) *Irish Cream: An alcoholic beverage introduced by Blynn in LY 135. *Liquor: An alcoholic which comes in various types, including whiskey, rum, vodka, absinthe, green, umeshu, etc. Liquor has been distilled on the Land since the first century. *Prittian coffee: A method of preparing coffee which is based on Terran "Turkish coffee." *Sandwich: A simple food in which various things, such as meat, cheese, certain vegetables or condiments, are placed between two slices of bread. A popular sandwich spread is threenut butter, which may be used by itself, or in combination with fruit-based jams or jellies, or with sliced pineana. The name "sandwich" derives from a Terran town. *Soft drinks: Non-alcoholic carbonated beverages which come in various flavors, including birch beer, sarsaparilla, sou'cit, swe'cit, ha'cit, strawberry, rainbowberry, ginger, egg cream, etc. The earliest varieties were first produced in 806, with others being introduced over several years after that. Soft drinks usually are served at restaurants, where they are prepared by hand. There are, however, some soft drinks which can be bottled and bought in markets. *Sushi: A method of preparing uncooked fish by wrapping it in nori, along with vinegared rice. First made on the Land in LY 300. *Tea: A hot (or sometimes iced) beverage, made from a plant which also exists on Earth. *Wheat tea: This actually doesn't contain any tea, but rather is made of bran, wheat, molasses, and maltodextrin. It was first made in LY 772, in Triscot, by a spirit-talker named Tom. The spirit who taught him the recipe said it was a drink that was once made on Earth, which he'd always enjoyed, until it was discontinued. (The spirit didn't mention the name of the product, and therefore Tom made up his own name for it, using "tea" simply because it is a powder to which hot water is added.) Unlike coffee and tea, wheat tea is naturally decaffeinated. *Wine: An alcoholic beverage which comes in various types, including merlot, shiraz, riesling, mead, etc. Wines have been made on the Land since the first century. Games *Chess: The very first game on the Land, this is a board game for two players, which was taught to Connor and Brigid by God sometime in the first half century of the world's existence. *Kaiju Cards: A trading card game which was introduced in LY 909. Based on similar games from the Nihon region of Earth. *Poker: A card game which was introduced sometime around LY 130. Usually played for money, by three to six players, though it can also be played just for fun. Holidays *Samhain: A Terran holiday which directly inspired a similar Landian holiday, celebrated on the same day of the year here as on Earth. While other Landian holidays may be similar to Terran ones, none can be said to have been so directly appropriated from Earth. *Schism Day/Synch Day: A pair of Landian holidays which mark the divergence and resynchronization between the numbering of days on the Terran and Landian calendars. *World Fair: A monthlong amalgam of events held every four years, first established in LY 900. Many of the events were inspired by similar ones on Earth. Literature & Plays *Arabian Nights: A book of stories and pictures, written by a spirit-talker named Alexander, in LY 127. It is generally considered to be an original Landian work which was merely inspired by stories from Earth, though many suspect the stories may be too similar to the Earth stories to be truly original. In fact, this claim is what introduced the subword "plagiarism" to the Land's vocabulary. However, such claims have never been substantiated, as no one besides Alexander is known to have ever heard the original stories. *The Brothers Karamazov: A book by Terran writer Fyodor Dostoevsky, first published on the Land in LY 850. *Foundation: A series of science fiction books by Terran writer Isaac Asimov. They have as yet never been published on the Land, though there are talks of publishing them in the future, owing to the revelation that they were provided to Kizin Planner by a spirit, and inspired him to create his own Plan, which led to the Coming of the Order. *His Dark Materials: A trilogy of science fiction books by Terran writer Philip Pullman, first published on the Land in LY 760. *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A series of science fiction books by Terran writer Douglas Adams, first published on the Land in LY 890. *The Lord of the Rings: A series of fantasy books by Terran writer J.R.R. Tolkien, first published on the Land in LY 599. *Luck in the Shadows: A fantasy book by Terran writer Lynn Flewelling, first published on the Land in LY 911. The first in a series, more of which may be published here in the near future. *Oni: An ongoing series of graphic novels, first published in LY 895. A fantasy series inspired by stories from the Nihon region of Earth. *Robin Hood: The main character of various Terran stories which have been retold on the Land by various storytellers starting sometime in the early 400s. These stories were first collected in a publication in LY 425. *Tooblan: A famous playwright and actor (LY 564-616), whose works are often compared to Terran playwright and actor William Shakespeare, among other Terran writers. Most of his works were in fact quite Landian in nature, but it cannot be denied that at least some of his works were influenced by Terran stories. *William Shakespeare: A famous Terran playwright, as mentioned above. Many of his works were performed by acting troupes as early as 250; they were also among the earliest publications upon the invention of the Talon printing press in 390. Magic *Internal enchantment engine: A magical device for powering vehicles, introduced in 911, which is similar to a Terran technology called the internal combustion engine. *Movies: A media form first introduced on the Land in LY 912, in which pre-recorded video plays are played back on bubble-screens. This type of magic is based on a Terran technology also called movies. *Mythical creatures: Created by Sorreters based on Terran stories, starting in LY 550. *T-mail: A magical device for communication which is similar to a Terran technology called telephones. Music *The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead: A Terran song which was first mentioned in the Book of Julia in LY 251, in an entry which included the lyrics, provided to her by God. In the years since then, various bands have performed their own interpretations of the song, though after the Coming, there have been a few copies of audio bubbles with recordings of the song as performed by two different Terran bands (XTC and Crash Test Dummies), earlier in the same century that the Land was created. *Black Radly: A band which formed in LY 911; their sound is said to be similar to various Terran musical genres, including rock, swing, and punk (on their various albums). *The Cephalopods (aka "the Cephs"): A band which formed in LY 912; their sound is said to be similar to a Terran band called the Beatles, which existed earlier in the same century that the Land was created. *The Royal Orchestra: A group which formed in LY 905, and plays a style of music referred to on Earth as "classical." *The Woodstockade Philharmonic: A group which formed in Woodstockade in LY 850, which plays classical and folk music. *Instruments: The majority of instruments on the Land are based on Terran instruments, though they are generally not precise reproductions. They include wind instruments such as fife, Frinn horn (first crafted in Frinn in LY 800, similar to what on Earth is commonly called a "French horn"), mouth harp, ocarina, shakuhachi, trumpet, and zurna; percussion instruments such as bass drum, bodhrán, djembe, snare drum, steelpan, tabla, taiko, tenor drum, and timpani; and stringed instruments such as bağlama, cello, dulcimer, harp, koto, lute, mandolin, violin, etc. Even strictly Landian creations are often inspired by Terran instruments: for example, the duré is essentially a combination of three separate Terran instruments; while the majitar is based on the electric guitar, but uses magic rather than electricity. Even instruments which were invented without reference to similar instruments on other worlds have a tendency to resemble alien instruments by sheer coincidence: for example, the hautbas. Category:Culture